The initiative, titled “Soil & Water: Kigali Crossings,” is being launched by the NIROX Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to environmental and contemporary art, in partnership with QA Venue Solutions Rwanda, the company that manages the park alongside BK Arena and Amahoro Stadium.

Scheduled to run from August 2026 to March 2027, the long-term programme will merge art, ecology, and public engagement within the park’s boundaries.

The event will feature public exhibitions, artist residency programmes, performances, concerts, and research-driven creative installations. Participating creators will develop works responding directly to environmental challenges, utilizing both technology and sustainable materials.

According to Benji Liebmann, founder and director of the NIROX Foundation, the project builds on more than two decades of using art to connect people with nature and conservation. He believes that art speaks to people differently, emotionally and intuitively, creating a deeper connection with the earth that inspires humanity to fall in love with nature again so they can protect it.

This marks the first time the programme will be hosted in Rwanda. Having previously been held in Europe and South Africa, Rwanda becomes only the second African country to host the initiative.

Liebmann noted that discussions to bring the project to Kigali emerged through a connection with Nyandungu Eco-Park Manager Ildephonse Kambogo, who visited the NIROX Sculpture Park in South Africa, a landscape famous for integrating open-air sculptures made of natural and recycled materials into the environment.

Liebmann recalled visiting about four years ago to assess its feasibility and realizing that the concept was more than feasible, describing it as both necessary and desirable.

“It has taken this long to reach the first stage, which is a pilot exhibition project,” he said, adding, “Art speaks to people differently, emotionally and intuitively, and we believe that creates a deeper connection with the earth. Humanity needs to fall in love with nature again."

The programme is expected to feature some of Africa’s leading contemporary artists, including Ibrahim Mahama and Serge Attukwei Clottey from Ghana, alongside Willem Boshoff from South Africa. They will be joined by additional participants from France, Spain, and Austria, while local Rwandan artists, including creators from the Inema Arts Center, will also take part in the initiative.

Nyandungu Eco-Park Manager Ildephonse Kambogo welcomed the partnership, stating that it will expand the park's role by integrating cultural and artistic engagement into its core conservation mission.

He explained that the wetland's primary role is to filter polluted water and improve its quality, and through art, they hope to find creative ways of showcasing this water purification process.

This will make the process easier for people to understand while supporting the wetland's conservation mission.

Kambogo added that the residency will allow local Rwandan artists to collaborate with international practitioners, helping to further scale local creative talent.

“Visitors usually come to enjoy the natural beauty, but there has been something missing, art that connects them to the park, culture, and creativity. These artists will create works displayed across the park so that every visitor can enjoy them,” he said.

Nyandungu Eco-Park officially opened in 2022 following a massive ecological restoration of the local wetland. Since its opening, visitor attendance has experienced sharp exponential growth, rising from 48,813 in its inaugural year to 67,222 in 2023. This steady upward trajectory solidified in 2024 when the park recorded 76,754 visitors.

By late 2025, attendance experienced its strongest growth spike yet, surging past 100,000 visitors to register a growth rate of over 30% compared to the previous year. The incoming art installations will be distributed throughout the park's 121 hectares, establishing a permanent creative layer for future visitors to experience.